Painted Pieces: Art Chess from Purling London at St. Louis’ World Chess Hall of Fame

St. Louis’ World Chess Hall of Fame is monument to the game, starting with the two-story-high chess piece that stands outside. But inside you’ll find the place isn’t just inspiring chess players, but artists as well.
In the Hall’s gallery you’ll find “Painted Pieces.” It is the art exhibition showing in conjunction with Purling London, a high-end maker of chess sets and other games. They mixed art into their equation when the owner of Purling encountered a problem. He and a friend were trying to play chess on the beach at sunset.
The World Chess Hall of Fame’s Shannon Bailey explains, “The sun was going down and they were having a hard time as it was getting darker and darker, differentiating between each other’s pieces.
Subscribe now ➤ bit.ly/2sQGTxE
For more great content from the Higher Education Channel check us out at:
Facebook ➤ bit.ly/1WPZEek
Twitter ➤ bit.ly/22qZDNU
Instagram ➤ bit.ly/1THSOnM

[@StopFear]

the chess pieces at 1:25 which are "reminiscent of graffiti art" are really VERY reminiscent of art by Keith Haring art. If it were blue on white it would actually look like the Russian painting style called Gzhel, which is blue colors on white porcelain.

[@PurlingLtd]

Superb video and interviews! Thank you so much HEC Art and World Chess Hall of Fame for you kind support of Purling 🏁👑🌈 Wishing you a lovely weekend ahead! Best, Simon and the Purling team www.purlinglondon.com

[@kevinwellwrought2024]

The problem with Purling Chess sets is they are made of wood and they crack after a while and given the high price it is really a big pain.

[@kevinwellwrought2024]

@Adam Galovič the painted wooden chessmen gradually cracks at their bases due to the weight inside them and also thick paint. The knights’ heads are made very delicately and their ears and mouths break easily during playing and storage.

[@StopFear]

One thing which I believe was a rather short sighted decision (if it was a decision. Seems like it was.) is that all the painted chess sets except the "female empowerment" one seems to be identical staunton sets. I mean, so much artistry can go into either using an older chess set design, or making a creative design by the artist. Oh well. Maybe it was too difficult for them to make unique chess pieces. ALthough seems it was not too difficult for the artist of the spiky chess set.